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ANCIENT  AMERICAN  ART. 


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CONVENTIONALISM 


IN 


ANCIENT  AMERICAN  ART. 


BY 

F.  W.  PUTNAM, 

Curator  of  the  Peabody  Museum  of  American  Archaeology  and  Ethnology , 
Cambridge , Mass. 


[From  the  Bulletin  of  tiie  Essex  Institute,  Vol.  XVIII,  1886.] 


SALEM : 

PRINTED  AT  TIIE  SALEM  PRESS, 
1887. 


NOTE. 


This  paper  was  also  read  before  the  Thursday  Club  of  Boston „ 
on  December  10,  1886. 


CONVENTIONALISM 


IN  ANCIENT  AMERICAN  ART. 


BY  F.  W.  PUTNAM. 


The  study  of  the  ceramic  art  of  ancient  America  is 
productive  of  much  that  is  of  importance  in  showing  the 
connections  between  the  various  peoples  who  have  inhab- 
ited the  country  in  past  times,  their  points  of  contact,  and 
the  routes  of  their  migrations.  It  also  enables  us  to  trace 
the  development  of  that  innate  principle  of  the  human 
mind  which  among  all  nations  finds  its  varied  expression  in 
ornament  and  art.  There  is  now  sufficient  evidence  to  show 
that  the  artistic  powers  of  man,  like  the  languages,  were 
developed  in  distinct  centres,  from  primitive  forms  of  ex- 
pression which,  necessarily,  had  principles  in  common. 

. This  will,  probably,  account  for  the  close  resemblances 
which  occur  in  the  early  expressions  of  art  in  different  and 
widely  separated  centres,  and  the  resultant  cosmopolitan 
forms  of  various  objects.  Thus  it  is  that  we  find  in  the 
lower  stratum  of  human  development  many  cooking  ves- 
sels, water  jars,  dishes  and  other  utensils  made  of  clay, 

(155) 


15G 


CONVENTIONALISM 


that  are  of  the  same  form  and  style  of  ornamentation  ; 
but  after  the  particular  form  of  vessel  desired  was  at- 
tained, and  the  early  methods  of  ornament  by  finger  marks, 
indentures,  scratches,  cross-lines,  and  the  imprint  of  cord 
or  fabric,  had  been  carried  to  their  full  extent,  we  can 
easily  understand  that  something  higher  would  follow. 
This  advanced  step  is  represented  in  various  ways  by  dif- 
ferent prehistoric  peoples,  but  it  is  when  this  step  is  taken 
that  the  imprint  is  given  to  the  art  of  each. 

Among  other  ways,  this  higher  expression  seems  to  be 
shown  in  the  realistic  representation  of  inanimate  and  an- 
imate objects,  often  of  a mythological  or  historical  char- 
acter. In  course  of  time,  as  art  attained  increased  power 
of  expression,  it  progressed  beyond  mere  realism  and  led 
to  the  representation  of  an  object  by  certain  conventional 
characters,  without  that  close  adherence  to  nature  which 
was  at  first  necessary  to  a clear  understanding  of  the  idea 
intended  to  be  conveyed.  Thus  conventionalism  began. 
Side  by  side  with  this  conventional  representation  of  ob- 
jects are  found  realistic  forms, — conservatism,  which  is 
such  a strong  characteristic  of  primitive  peoples,  leading 
to  both  methods  of  expression  at  the  same  time. 

As  already  stated,  it  is  during  this  stage  of  the  art  of  a 
people  that  a special  imprint  is  given,  and  the  line  of  de- 
velopment which  follows  is  so  marked  that  the  particular 
art  of  one  centre  of  development  can  be  traced  as  it  spreads 
and  infringes  upon  another.  While  a comparison  of  these 
various  forms  of  art  expression  may  not  necessarily  prove 
the  routes  which  different  peoples  have  travelled  in  their 
migrations,  it  does  indicate  their  points  of  contact,  and  to 
this  extent  it  is  so  important  to  a proper  understanding  of 
their  history  that  it  cannot  be  neglected. 

In  the  course  of  my  studies  in  this  direction,  I was  led, 
some  years  since,  to  investigate  these  realistic  and  con- 


IN  ANCIENT  AMERICAN  ART. 


157 


volitional  forms  and  I have  called  attention  to  some  of  the 
interesting  features  noticed  in  the  pottery  from  the  stone- 
graves  of  the  Cumberland  valley  in  Tennessee  and  from 
the  burial  mounds  of  Missouri  and  Arkansas.1 

As  a knowledge  of  this  conventionalism  is  important  to 
our  studies  I have  traced  it  in  the  art  of  those  American 
peoples  among  whom  it  has  had  an  existence,  although,  it 
is  proper  to  add,  it  was  not  developed  among  them  all. 
With  the  ancient  Mexicans,  for  instance,  their  higher  ce- 
ramic art  was  more  symbolical  than  conventional,  using  this 
latter  term  with  the  meaning  here  given  to  it.  The  an- 
cient Peruvians,  too,  west  of  the  region  influenced  by  the 
Aymaras,  or  their  predecessors  in  the  vicinity  of  Lake 
Titicaca,  seem  to  have  been  lacking  in  these  methods  of 
conventional  representation,  and  their  highest  art  may  be 
called  realism,  to  which  is  often  added  the  expression  of 
an  action.  In  the  region  of  Lake  Titicaca  another  type 
of  art  expression  exists,  and  while  our  collection  from  this 
region  is  still  meagre  there  is  enough  to  show  a remarka- 
ble  resemblance  to  those  early  old-world  forms  which  cul- 
minated in  the  classical  type  of  the  Mediterranean  peoples. 

In  the  conventionalism  represented  on  the  Cumberland 
valley  pottery,  the  head  of  a mammal  is  one  of  the  most 
instructive  studies.  There  are,  however,  other  forms  less 
marked,  which  indicate  a contact  with  the  Missouri  and 
Arkansas  potters,  in  whose  art  the  fish,  the  frog,  the  owl, 
the  human  form  and  the  squash,  are  the  most  prominent  ob- 
jects conventionalized.  In  Nicaragua,  the  principal  forms 
conventionalized  are  the  animal  heads  on  the  feet  of  tri- 


1 Communications  on  this  subject  were  made  to  the  Boston  Society  of  Natural 
History  in  1879;  to  the  American  Association  for  the  Advancement  of  Science  in 
1879;  to  the  American  Academy  of  Arts  and  Sciences  in  1882;  and  in  lectures  at 
the  Peabody  Museum  and  in  other  places,  since  1878,  but  the  details  have  not  been 
published.  I have,  however,  long  had  series  arranged  in  the  Peabody  Museum  at 
Cambridge  to  show  the  several  groups  of  conventionalized  forms. 


158 


CONVENTIONALISM 


pods,  the  human  face,  and  the  face  combined  with  the 
serpent,  moulded  on  the  burial  jars,  although  other  forms 
are  treated  iu  an  interesting  manner. 


THE  ANIMAL  HEAD  ON  POTTERY  FROM  TENNESSEE. 

An  illustration  of  conventionalism,  as  seen  in  the  pot- 
tery from  the  stone-graves  of  Tennessee,  is  shown  in  the 
figures  on  Plate  I. 

Figures  1 and  2 are  of  a vessel,  rudely  realistic,  repre- 
senting the  head  of  an  animal.  As  vessels  in  every  way 
similar  to  this  are  found  among  the  Missouri  pottery,  it  is 
probable  that  this  form  had  a single  origin.  The  treat- 
ment here  given  to  this  animal  head  has  resulted  in  an  un- 
symmetrical  vessel  of  rude  form,  not  at  all  pleasing  to  the 
eye.  An  attempt  to  correct  this  lack  of  symmetry  is 
shown  in  figure  4,  in  which  the  ears  have  been  pushed  back 
and  the  eyes  forward,  while  to  offset  the  nose  and  mouth 
on  the  front,  a knob,  which  we  may  call  a tail,  has  been 
placed  opposite ; but  still  we  cannot  say  that  the  effect  is 
pleasing,  for  here  we  observe  the  absence  of  the  natural 
relation  of  parts  without  compensation  in  other  ways. 

In  the  next  vessel,  figure  3,  we  see  a higher  expression, 
and  realism  has  slightly  given  way  to  the  desire  for  sym- 
metry. Here  we  see  the  effort  to  make  a symmetrical 
vessel  and  also  to  add  two  handles,  while  at  the  same  time 
the  character  of  the  animal  head  is  retained.  The  nose, 
eyes  and  ears  are  represented,  on  each  side  of  the  vessel, 
in  a row  from  handle  to  handle. 

In  figures  5 and  6,  the  nose  and  mouth  form  the  central 
object  on  one-half  of  ihe  vessel,  with  an  eye  on  each  side. 
On  the  opposite  half,  the  tail  and  an  ear  on  each  side 
are  the  balancing  features,  and  a handle  is  placed  in  the 
centre  between  the  eye  and  ear  on  each  side. 


i 


IN  ANCIENT  AMERICAN  ART. 


159 


With  this  arrangement  of  the  parts,  conventionalism 
has  full  play,  and  in  figures  7 and  8 are  seen  two  vessels 
on  which  the  nose,  eye,  ear  and  tail  are  rudely  represented 
in  the  same  positions  as  in  the  preceding.  Several  other 
vessels  are  of  the  same  character,  but  slightly  modified 
in  the  more  or  less  realistic  representation  of  the  several 
parts,  until,  finally,  the  climax  of  conventionalism  in  this 
direction  is  reached  in  the  vessel  shown  in  figure  9,  where 
the  nose,  tail,  eyes  and  ears  are  represented  by  six  round 
knobs  of  equal  size,  holding  the  positions  assigned  to  the 
several  features  in  the  preceding  figures. 

In  this  last  specimen  realistic  work  has  entirely  given 
way  to  symmetry,  and  a common  cooking  pot  has  become 
chaste  in  style  as  the  result  of  a development  of  artistic 
feeling. 

All  the  examples  to  which  I have  referred  are  from  the 
stone-graves  in  the  burial  places  of  a people  who  must  have 
lived  in  towns  near  together  in  the  Cumberland  valley. 
Unfortunately,  we  cannot  ascertain  how  long.it  took  for 
this  development,  but  that  these  burial  places  contain  the 
dead  of  many  generations  there  is  no  doubt.2 

OTHER  FORMS  CONVENTIONALIZED. 

In  the  case  of  the  fish,  particularly  in  the  pottery  from 
the  St.  Francis  valley  in  Arkansas,  the  realistic  forms  are  of 
the  same  character  as  the  mammal’s  head  in  the  preced- 
ing figures  1 and  2,  from  Tennessee,  and  the  line  of  conven- 
tionalism is  carried  out  on  similar  principles ; that  is,  the 


2It  is  important  to  state  that  the  study  of  the  art  of  this  ancient  people  is  based 
upon  a collection  derived  from  over  six  thousand  of  the  singular  stone-graves  in 
the  Cumberland  valley,  which  were  opened  by  myself  or  by  assistants  work- 
ing under  my  direction.  I was  in  particular  aided  by  the  faithful  labors  of  the 
late  Mr.  Edwin  Curtis,  of  Nashville,  who  for  several  years  acted  as  my  principal 
assistant  in  the  Cumberland  valley  and  in  Arkansas.  It  is  also  important  to  state 
that  in  all  these  graves  there  was  not  a single  object  found  indicating  contact  with 
Europeans. 


1G0 


CONVENTIONALISM 


vessel,  first  in  the  form  of  a fish,  gradually  loses  its  piscine 
shape,  and  either  the  dorsal  and  anal  fins  alone  are  left  to 
serve  as  handles,  or  the  head  and  tail  are  reduced  to  sim- 
ple knobs  for  that  purpose. 

In  the  case  of  the  frog,  also  largely  used  in  Missouri 
and  Arkansas  art,  the  realistic  representations  are  com- 
mon, but  in  the  process  of  conventionalism  the  legs  of 
the  frog  become  ridges  on  the  sides  of  the  vessel  and  serve 
as  handles.  It  is  an  interesting  fact  that  there  are  vessels 
from  Nicaragua  which  have  the  same  conventional  orna- 
ments on  their  sides  ; but  as  I have  not  seen  any  intermediate 
forms  between  them  and  the  realistic  frog,  which  also  oc- 
curs in  Nicaraguan  work,  I cannot  assert  positively  that 
this  conventionalized  form  is  here  actually  derived  from 
the  frog,  although  it  seems  probable. 

In  the  bird,  human  and  squash  forms,  particularly 
prominent  in  the  jars  from  the  Missouri  burial  mounds, 
the  modifications  are  principally  at  the  top  of  the  vessel, 
and  all  three  forms  are  conventionalized  to  a simple  type, 
having  the  appearance  of  an  intermediate  form.  From  a 
casual  examination  of  the  series  of  Missouri  pottery  in  the 
Museum,  having  these  forms,  it  would  be  easy  to  conclude 
that  the  jars  in  the  shape  of  women  were  a development 
from  those  of  the  squash  form,  were  it  not  that  the  real- 
istic work  in  every  case  preceded  the  conventional. 

TIIE  HUMAN  FACE  ON  TOTTERY  FROM  NICARAGUA. 

The  many  ways  of  treating  the  human  face  as  an  orna- 
ment on  ancient  pottery  from  Nicaragua  is  an  interesting 
study,  and  its  combination  with  the  serpent  is  a remarka- 
ble feature  in  this  old  art  to  which  I shall  refer  on  another 
occasion.  For  the  present  only  one  of  the  methods  is 
considered,  and  this  is  selected  on  account  of  its  close  re- 


IN  ANCIENT  AMERICAN  ART. 


161 


semblance  to  the  treatment  of  the  animal  head  on  the  jars 
from  Tennessee.  In  fact  the  underlying  principle  in  botli 
is  the  same. 

Plate  II  contains  figures  of  the  human  face  as  seen  on 
seven  small  vessels  from  ancient  burial  places  near  together 
in  Nicaragua. 

In  figure  1,  we  have  a well  carved  human  face.  In  this 
effort  the  potter  evidently  did  his  best  to  make  a symmet- 
rical head  and  the  only  lack  is  in  the  eyes,  one  of  which  is 
apparently  represented  as  closed  and  the  other  half  closed, 
or  with  the  upper  lid  drawn  down.  The  realism  is  further 
shown  by  the  stud-like  ornaments  in  the  enlarged  ear- 
lobes. 

Figure  2 is  still  realistic  in  the  portions  represented, 
but  the  mouth  is  absent,  and  the  nose  and  eyes  are  the 
prominent  features,  while  the  ears  are  rudely  done. 

In  figure  3 the  several  features  are  distinctly  presented 
and  each  one  is  characteristically  represented. 

In  figure  4 the  same  method  of  showing  the  parts  of  the 
face  is  followed,  but  from  the  eyes  extend  lines  represent- 
ing the  eyebrows.  This  is  probably  the  beginning  of  the 
combination  of  the  serpent  with  the  face  as  shown  in 
another  series. 

Figure  5 shows  all  the  features,  but  each  is  reduced  to 
its  characteristic  parts. 

In  figure  6 the  eyes  and  ears  are  nearly  the  same  as  in 
the  preceding,  but  the  nose  has  become  simply  a round 
knob.  The  mouth  has  now  disappeared  in  this  series  of 
conventionalized  forms,  and,  finally,  in  figure  7,  the  nose, 
eyes  and  ears  are  all  reduced  to  simple  knobs  formed  of 
pinches  of  clay  added  to  the  surface  of  the  jar,  thus  rep- 
resenting the  several  features  of  the  face  in  the  same 
manner  as  in  the  jar  from  Tennessee.  Although  the  ar- 
2 


162 


CONVENTIONALISM 


rangcment  of  the  parts  in  the  ultimate  forms  of  the  two 
groups  is  different,  the  realistic  beginnings  of  the  two  se- 
ries are  similar,  and  the  method  of  conventionalization  is 
the  same  in  principle. 

THE  FISH  ON  THE  FEET  OF  TRIPODS  FROM  CHIRIQUI. 

The  recent  acquisition  by  the  Peabody  Museum  of  a 
large  collection  of  pottery  from  the  ancient  graves  in  Chi- 
riqui,  Panama,  has  drawn  my  attention  again  to  the  con- 
ventional representation  of  the  tish  upon  the  feet  of  the 
tripods,  where  the  whole  purpose  to  be  served  seems  to 
be  simply  and  purely  ornamental.  This  is  the  more  prob- 
able from  the  fact  that  other  animals,  and  even  the  human 
form,  are  represented  on  other  tripods  from  the  same 
graves.  I have  selected  the  tish  for  illustration,  as  the 
series  belonging  to  this  group  is  larger  and  more  perfect 
than  the  others. 

In  the  two  figures  represented  on  Plate  III,  the  shape  of 
these  tripods  is  shown.  In  one,  the  legs  are  plain,  in  the 
other,  they  are  ornamented  in  such  a manner  as  to  give 
several  of  the  special  features  of  a tish.  On  each  of  the 
feet,  in  the  latter,  we  see  the  projecting  and  wide  mouth, 
the  eyes,  the  pectoral  tins,  and  a forked  tail.  The  space 
where  the  dorsal  tins  naturally  would  be  placed  was  cut 
away  before  the  vessel  was  baked,  and  through  this  slit 
can  be  seen  the  movable  ball  of  clay  with  which  these  hol- 
low legs  are  generally  provided. 

In  not  a single  instance  is  there  an  attempt  to  represent 
the  anal  tin,  which  would  have  its  natural  position  on  the 
opposite,  or  inner  side  of  the  foot  of  the  vessel.  Its  ab- 
sence can  be  taken  as  another  evidence  that  this  treatment 
is  purely  for  ornament,  and  it  probably  owed  its  origin  to 
the  fact  that  the  potter,  realizing  the  adaptability  of  the 


IN  ANCIENT  AMERICAN  ART. 


163 


fish  to  his  purposes,  gave  way  to  his  fancy  and  added  to 
his  art  that  of  the  sculptor. 

On  Plates  IV-VII,  are  shown  this  series  of  feet  from 
tripods,  illustrating  the  different  ways  in  which  this  prim- 
itive conception  became  conventionalized  by  the  prehis- 
toric people  of  Chiriqui,  who  carved  in  stone  as  well  as  in 
clay,  and  who  were  also  remarkable  for  their  work  in 
copper  and  gold,  in  which  materials  their  realistic  and  con- 
ventional art  followed  a course  similar  to  that  shown  in 
their  pottery. 

Plate  IV.  Figure  1 is  a plain  foot  of  a tripod  and  shows 
the  adaptability  of  this  form  to  the  essential  external  char- 
acters of  a fish. 

Figure  2 is  a rudely  realistic  representation  of  a fish, 
with  mouth,  eyes,  two  dorsal  fins,  and  the  pectoral  and 
ventral  fins  on  the  sides.  All  are  in  approximately  natural 
positions,  while  the  caudal  fin  is  represented  as  an  horizon- 
tal instead  of  a vertical  termination  of  the  body.  The 
manner  in  which  the  several  features  are  here  shown  must 
be  kept  in  mind  as  we  follow  out  the  series,  particularly 
the  central  indentures  in  the  small  oval  pieces  of  clay  rep- 
resenting the  eyes,  and  the  incised  lines  running  from  the 
body  on  the  bits  of  clay  which  indicate  the  dorsal  and 
paired  fins,  although  these  details  are  sometimes  omitted. 

In  figure  3 the  ventral  fins  are  not  represented,  while  the 
pectoral,  dorsal,  and  caudal  fins  are  shown  nearly  as  in 
figure  2,  except  that  the  pectorals  are  placed  close  to  the 
mouth.  In  the  raised  bands  representing  the  upper  jaw, 
the  outline  of  the  mouth  is  retained  as  in  figure  2 ; but 
here  artistic  license  comes  into  play,  and  the  lower  jaw  is 
brought  up  to  a level  with  the  upper,  and  as  the  whole 
space  allowed  for  representing  the  head  is  thus  disposed 
of,  the  eyes  are  placed  forward  of  the  mouth,  at  a point 
where  this  foot  joins  the  body  of  the  vessel. 


164 


CONVENTIONALISM 


The  Chevron  Ornament . Plate  V.  Figures  1,  2 and  3, 
are  from  one  tripod,  and  this  is  the  only  instance  in  the 
series  where  the  three  feet  of  a vessel  are  not  essentially  the 
same,  and  even  here  there  is  a general  similarity  though 
the  details  vary.  It  will  be  noticed  that  in  all  three,  the 
caudal  fin  is  represented  in  its  natural,  or  vertical  position, 
the  rays  being  indicated  by  the  notches  cut  across  the 
edge  of  the  compressed  terminal  portion  of  the  foot  which 
is  turned  forward. 

In  figure  1 the  head  of  the  fish  is  triangular,  and  ter- 
minates in  a truncated  nose,  on  each  side  of  which  is  the 
mouth,  shown  by  incised  lines.  The  eyes  are  two  small 
round  bits  of  clay  without  the  usual  line  cut  across  them. 
Just  back  of  these  is  the  dorsal  fin,  and  on  each  side  of 
the  long  central  opening  of  the  foot  are  the  pectoral  fins, 
below  which  the  artist  has  cut  two  rows  of  chevron-like 
lines,  which,  possibly,  may  have  been  suggested  by  bands 
of  color  upon  the  sides  of  many  tropical  fishes. 

In  figure  2 there  is  a slight  change  from  figure  1 in  the 
shape  of  the  head,  but  the  eyes  and  dorsal  fin  are  in  nearly 
the  same  relative  positions,  although  varying  in  their  de- 
tails. The  pectoral  fins  are  absent,  but  the  ventrals  are 
represented  although  not  directly  opposite  each  other, 
and  the  bands  of  chevron-like  lines  are  placed  between 
these  fins  and  the  eyes. 

In  figure  3 there  is  a marked  difference  in  the  manner 
of  representing  the  mouth.  Curved  lines  are  cut  in  a 
broad  band  of  clay.  Back  of  these  is  an  enlarged  dorsal, 
on  each  side  of  which  are  the  pectoral  fins,  the  eyes  be- 
ing omitted.  Below,  the  ventral  fins  are  introduced,  and 
between  them  and  the  pectoral  fins  are  the  chevron  bands 
nearly  the  same  as  in  figure  2. 

The  foot  from  another  tripod,  given  as  figure  4,  exhibits 
a result  of  this  chevron  ornament.  In  this  all  parts  of  the 


IN  ANCIENT  AMERICAN  ART. 


165 


fish  are  omitted  except  the  pectoral  and  ventral  fins  which 
are  placed  on  each  side  of  the  long  opening  in  the  foot, 
and  the  dorsal  fin  which  is  placed  over  it.  Pendent  from 
the  knob  representing  the  dorsal  fin  are  the  two  chevron 
bands.  In  this  conventionalized  form  a simplicity  in  or- 
nament has  been  reached  which  is  far  more  pleasing  to  the 
eye  than  are  the  crude  and  crowded  expressions  in  the 
preceding  figures. 

As  the  two  tripods  with  this  chevron  ornament  are  from 
graves  near  together,  they  may  represent  the  success- 
ive efforts  of  the  potter  struggling  to  give  expression  to 
artistic  feelings. 

The  Pectoral  and  Ventral  Fins . Plate  V.  Figure  5 is 
another  instance  where  an  addition  has  been  made  to  the 
characters  of  the  fish.  In  this  case  the  head  is  expressed 
by  the  nose  and  eyes  which  are  carved  in  relief  upon  a tri- 
angular piece  of  clay  added  to  the  upper  part  of  the  foot. 
On  each  side  of  this  piece  of  clay  are  the  pectoral  fins, 
while  the  ventral  fins  are  united  by  a band  of  clay  cross- 
ing the  opening  in  the  foot.  On  this  band  are  several 
slight  v-shaped  indentures.  As  in  the  last  figure  and  in 
the  following,  there  is  no  attempt  to  represent  the  caudal 
fin. 

A resultant  form  from  the  last  is  shown  in  figure  6.  In 
this  the  general  curved  outline  of  the  head,  or  mouth,  of 
the  fish  is  retained  as  the  upper  border  of  the  foot,  while 
the  pectoral  and  ventral  fins  are  expressed  by  rather  large 
pieces  of  clay  with  deep  notches. 

Two  more  lines  are  to  be  traced  in  this  conventionalism 
of  the  fish.  In  one  the  mouth  is  the  essential  feature  and 
in  the  other  the  dorsal  fin.  They  both  start  from  a realistic 
form  like  fig. -2,  PI.  IV,  but  they  soon  diverge  and  the  re- 
sults are  decidedly  di  fie  rent. 


166 


CONVENTIONALISM 


The  Mouth.  Plate  VI.  In  figure  1,  as  will  be  seen,  the 
mouth,  with  its  pointed  jaws,  is  the  essential  feature.  The 
pectoral  fins  are  at  the  angles  of  the  mouth.  •The  eyes 
are  in  their  normal  position.  The  dorsal  and  ventral  fins 
are  absent.  The  caudal  is  represented  as  in  fig.  2,  PI.  IV. 

In  figure  2 the  pointed  nose  and  mouth  are  prominent 
features.  The  pectoral  and  caudal  fins  are  not  striated. 
The  eyes  are  similar  to  those  in  figure  1. 

In  figure  3 the  deep  lines  cut  in  the  bands  of  clay  form- 
ing the  jaws,  and  others  between  them  representing  the 
teeth,  are  evidence  that  the  thoughts  of  the  artist  were  con- 
centrated upon  representing  the  mouth  of  a fish.  The 
pointed  nose  in  the  previous  figure  here  gives  way  to  the 
forced  expression  of  a mouth,  and  is  placed  on  the  under 
jaw,  with  a license  similar  to  that  used  in  representing  the 
eyes  in  fig.  3,  PI.  IV.  The  pectoral  fins  are  in  the  same 
position  as  in  the  two  preceding  figures,  while  the  ventral 
fins  are  copied  from  the  realistic  form.  The  caudal  fin  has 
entirely  given  way  to  a rounded  knob. 

In  figure  4 there  is  a raised  pointed  portion  over  the 
opening  in  the  foot.  On  this  part  a deep  line  is  cut  cor- 
responding to  the  line  which  gives  emphasis  to  the  jaw 
in  the  preceding  figure.  The  striated  patch  of  clay  on 
each  side  below  the  angle  of  the  mouth  represents  the  pec- 
toral fins.  All  other  parts  of  the  fish  are  wanting. 

In  figure  5 the  pointed  jaw  alone  is  preserved  in  the 
mass  of  clay  placed  above  the  opening  in  the  foot ; and, 
finally,  in  figure  6,  the  climax  in  this  line  of  conventional- 
ism is  reached  by  cutting  two  sets  of  oblique  lines  on  the 
surface  of  the  foot  itself. 

The  Dorsal  Fin.  Plate  VII.  In  the  final  series,  the 
prominence  which  the  dorsal  fin  is  to  have  is  exemplified 
by  figure  1.  In  this,  the  mouth,  eyes  and  pectoral  fins 


IN  ANCIENT  AMERICAN  ART. 


1G7 


are  all  prominent,  realistic  features,  and  the  dorsal  fin  is 
conspicuous  by  its  size  and  position  forward  of  the  eyes. 

In  figures  2 and  3,  the  several  parts  of  the  head,  while 
rudely  done,  are  expressive,  and  the  dorsal  fin  placed  be- 
tween the  eyes  in  both  is  a prominent  feature.  In  figure 
3,  the  teeth  are  represented  by  bands  passing  from  jaw 
to  jaw. 

In  figure  4 these  bands  become  small  rounded  masses, 
while  a larger  one  in  the  centre  represents  the  dorsal  fin, 
as  it  holds  the  same  position  as  a striated  knob  in  the  follow- 
ing figure. 

In  figure  5 the  mouth  and  teeth  are  represented  by  cut 
lines,  and  the  ventral,  as  well  as  the  pectoral  tins,  are  shown 
somewhat  as  in  fig.  3 of  the  preceding  plate. 

In  figure  6 the  pectoral  fins  are  more  closely  united  to 
the  mouth  than  in  the  last,  and  the  dorsal  fin  is  a small 
striated  cone  in  the  centre  of  the  raised  lines  form  in 2:  the 
month. 

The  next  step  is  shown  in  figure  7,  where  the  pecto- 
ral and  dorsal  fins  are  represented  by  three  small  cones, 
between  which  are  incised  lines  for  the  mouth  and  teeth. 

In  figure  8 a deep  notch  is  cut  on  the  upper  part  of 
the  foot,  defining  the  mouth  of  the  fish  under  the  raised 
knob  representing  the  dorsal  fin,  on  each  side  of  which  are 
two  slight  knobs  for  pectoral  fins. 

In  figure  9 all  the  parts  have  been  eliminated  except 
the  dorsal  fin,  or  the  round  striated  knob  above  the  open- 
ing in  the  foot.  On  one  of  the  feet  of  the  same  tripod  the 
incised  lines  on  the  knob  are  omitted,  and  in  this  we  find 
the  conventionalized  fish  reduced  to  its  simplest  form, — 
which  may  be  represented  by  my  period. 


' 

■ 


PLATE  I. 


THE  ANIMAL  HEAD  ON  ANCIENT  POTTERY  FROM  STONE-GRAVES  IN  TENNESSEE. 


PLATE  II. 


THE  HUMAN  FACE  ON  POTTERY  FROM  NICARAGUA. 


PLATE  III. 


PLATE  IV. 


THE 


ON  THE  FEET  OF  TRIPODS  FROM  CHIRIQUt. 


- 


PLATE  V. 


THE  FISH 


N THE  FEET  OF  TRIPODS  FROM  CHIRIQUI. 


HP! 


PLATE  VI. 


PilE  FISH  ON  THE  FEET  OF  TRIPODS  FROM  CHIRIQUI. 


—The  Month.— 


PLATE  VII. 


THE  PISH  ON  THE  FEET  OF  TRIPODS  FROM  CHIRIQDI. 


—The  Dorsal  Fin.— 


1 


V 


